108TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION H. R. 2400 AN ACT To amend the Organic Act of for the pur- poses of clarifying the local judicial structure of Guam.

108TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION H. R. 2400

AN ACT To amend the Organic Act of Guam for the purposes of clarifying the local judicial structure of Guam.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 1 SECTION 1. JUDICIAL STRUCTURE OF GUAM.

2 (a) JUDICIAL AUTHORITY; COURTS.—Section 22(a) 3 of the Organic Act of Guam (48 U.S.C. 1424(a)) is 4 amended to read as follows: 5 ‘‘(a)(1) The judicial authority of Guam shall be vest- 6 ed in a court established by Congress designated as the 7 ‘’, and a judicial branch of Guam 8 which branch shall constitute a unified judicial system and 9 include an designated as the ‘Supreme 10 Court of Guam’, a trial court designated as the ‘Superior 11 Court of Guam’, and such other lower local courts as may 12 have been or shall hereafter be established by the laws of 13 Guam. 14 ‘‘(2) The of Guam may, by rules of 15 such court, create divisions of the Superior Court of Guam 16 and other local courts of Guam. 17 ‘‘(3) The courts of record for Guam shall be the Dis- 18 trict Court of Guam, the , the 19 Superior Court of Guam (except the Traffic and Small 20 Claims divisions of the Superior Court of Guam) and any 21 other local courts or divisions of local courts that the Su- 22 preme Court of Guam shall designate.’’.

23 (b) JURISDICTION AND POWERS OF LOCAL

24 COURTS.—Section 22A of the Organic Act of Guam (48 25 U.S.C. 1424–1) is amended to read as follows:

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1 ‘‘SEC. 22A. (a) The Supreme Court of Guam shall 2 be the highest court of the judicial branch of Guam (ex- 3 cluding the District Court of Guam) and shall— 4 ‘‘(1) have original jurisdiction over proceedings 5 necessary to protect its appellate jurisdiction and su- 6 pervisory authority and such other original jurisdic- 7 tion as the laws of Guam may provide; 8 ‘‘(2) have jurisdiction to hear appeals over any 9 cause in Guam decided by the Superior Court of 10 Guam or other courts established under the laws of 11 Guam; 12 ‘‘(3) have jurisdiction to issue all orders and 13 writs in aid of its appellate, supervisory, and original 14 jurisdiction, including those orders necessary for the 15 supervision of the judicial branch of Guam; 16 ‘‘(4) have supervisory jurisdiction over the Su- 17 perior Court of Guam and all other courts of the ju- 18 dicial branch of Guam; 19 ‘‘(5) hear and determine appeals by a panel of 20 three of the justices of the Supreme Court of Guam 21 and a concurrence of two such justices shall be nec- 22 essary to a decision of the Supreme Court of Guam 23 on the merits of an appeal; 24 ‘‘(6) make and promulgate rules governing the 25 administration of the and the practice and

•HR 2400 EH 4 1 procedure in the courts of the judicial branch of 2 Guam, including procedures for the determination of 3 an appeal en banc; and 4 ‘‘(7) govern attorney and judicial ethics and the 5 practice of law in Guam, including admission to 6 practice law and the conduct and discipline of per- 7 sons admitted to practice law. 8 ‘‘(b) The of the Supreme Court of 9 Guam— 10 ‘‘(1) shall preside over the Supreme Court un- 11 less disqualified or unable to act; 12 ‘‘(2) shall be the administrative head of, and 13 have general supervisory power over, all depart- 14 ments, divisions, and other instrumentalities of the 15 judicial branch of Guam; and 16 ‘‘(3) may issue such administrative orders on 17 behalf of the Supreme Court of Guam as necessary 18 for the efficient administration of the judicial branch 19 of Guam. 20 ‘‘(c) The Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of 21 Guam, or a justice sitting in place of such Chief Justice, 22 may make any appropriate order with respect to— 23 ‘‘(1) an appeal prior to the hearing and deter- 24 mination of that appeal on the merits; or

•HR 2400 EH 5 1 ‘‘(2) dismissal of an appeal for lack of jurisdic- 2 tion or failure to take or prosecute the appeal in ac- 3 cordance with applicable laws or rules of procedure. 4 ‘‘(d) Except as granted to the Supreme Court of 5 Guam or otherwise provided by this Act or any other Act 6 of Congress, the Superior Court of Guam and all other 7 local courts established by the laws of Guam shall have 8 such original and appellate jurisdiction over all causes in 9 Guam as the laws of Guam provide, except that such juris- 10 diction shall be subject to the exclusive or concurrent ju- 11 risdiction conferred on the District Court of Guam under 12 section 22 of this Act. 13 ‘‘(e) The qualifications and duties of the justices and 14 judges of the Supreme Court of Guam, the Superior Court 15 of Guam, and all other local courts established by the laws 16 of Guam shall be governed by the laws of Guam and the 17 rules of such courts.’’.

18 (c) TECHNICAL AMENDMENTS.—(1) Section 22C(a) 19 of the Organic Act of Guam (48 U.S.C. 1424–3(a)) is 20 amended by inserting ‘‘which is known as the Supreme 21 Court of Guam,’’ after ‘‘appellate court authorized by sec- 22 tion 22A(a) of this Act,’’. 23 (2) Section 22C(d) of the Organic Act of Guam (48 24 U.S.C. 1424–3(d)) is amended—

•HR 2400 EH 6 1 (A) by inserting ‘‘, which is known as the Su- 2 preme Court of Guam,’’ after ‘‘appellate court pro- 3 vided for in section 22A(a) of this Act’’; and 4 (B) by striking ‘‘taken to the appellate court’’ 5 and inserting ‘‘taken to such appellate court’’.

6 SEC. 2. APPEALS TO UNITED STATES SUPREME COURT. 7 Section 22B of the Organic Act of Guam (48 U.S.C. 8 1424–2) is amended by striking ‘‘: Provided, That’’ and 9 all that follows through the end and inserting a period. Passed the House of Representatives September 13, 2004. Attest:

Clerk.

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